We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
There are lots of effective ways to upgrade your kitchen cabinets to help make the most of all that storage space. However, balancing function and aesthetics is important to ensure things don’t look cluttered. Kitchen cabinet sides are one such space that, if cleverly used, can blend practicality and charm. These wide, plain surfaces are visible, easy to access, but very often left bare. Hanging a few oft-used items like scissors, cups, or kitchen towels on them is an option, but may appear a little like an afterthought. Decorative pieces will look good but serve no purpose apart from aesthetics. A mounted wine rack is the best of both worlds — putting the space to good use while also giving the kitchen a classy feel.
Wine bottles of almost any kind can look pleasing to the eye, and even more so when there are multiple. If you’ve got a collection, keep the ones you drink most often on the easily accessible wine rack you affix to the side of the kitchen cabinet. If you don’t collect wines, pick a smaller shelf that’s made for just a few bottles, or even this Yalinka wine bottle and stemware rack that holds a single bottle and three glasses. Most small wall-mounted shelves can be attached to the side of the kitchen cabinet, provided they are the appropriate size and weight.
While this kitchen upgrade trick can be used with overhead or floor cabinets, it’s best to use it in a spot where the wine bottles don’t get accidentally knocked down. With just a few pointers to keep in mind, this is a quick and efficient way to snazz up your kitchen.
Pointers for simultaneously storing and displaying wine in the kitchen
The first thing to assess when considering putting a wine rack on your kitchen cabinet is how much weight the cabinet can support. This depends on the material, size, and positioning of the cabinet, and larger units are generally sturdier and can bear more weight. If in doubt, ask a professional or the company that installed your cabinet for advice. Second, once you’ve verified that your cabinet’s sides are definitely up to the task, you’ll need to ensure you use the right screws to fix the wine rack. They must be sufficiently strong, but not so large that they go through to the storage side of the cabinet. Finally, position the rack so it’s outside busy areas like the kitchen triangle. The sides of under-the-counter and overhead cabinets are options, and you can also consider fixing a wine rack to the side of your kitchen island if the space is unused.
While wine lasts much longer than most foods that spoil quickly in storage, it’s important that the wine rack is not subject to direct sunlight or heat from kitchen appliances. If you feel you don’t want to store wine in the kitchen for too long, get a smaller unit, like the Wine Stack Store’s 3-bottle wall-mounted wine rack, so that the bottles can be easily switched or used up.
This isn’t an ideal spot for your priciest wines or Champagne, but there are plenty of ways to save money on wine so you can easily populate your kitchen cabinet wine rack without worrying about degrading an expensive bottle. And, if you enjoy the aesthetic, you can always display some of the prettier, more expensive bottles on the rack once they’ve been drunk.
